July 26, 2019      4:04 PM

OIG reviews, compares opioid policies of eight states, including Texas

Texas has the most opioid treatment programs of the eight states, by far

Texas was among the eight states reviewed for its response to the opioid crisis in a report out this afternoon from the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The audit reviewed current state opioid policies and data from the Centers for Disease Control regarding trends in opioid deaths in eight states: Texas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah, Washington State and West Virginia.

General findings noted the opioid epidemic has had a disproportional impact on Medicaid recipients, who often have chronic conditions that require pain relief. According to statistics, Medicaid beneficiaries are prescribed painkillers at twice the rate of non-Medicaid patients and are at three to six times the risk of an opioid overdose.

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright July 26, 2019, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved